By: Richard L. Smith
A former campaign manager from Hunterdon County has been sentenced to probation for attempting to fraudulently place a candidate on the Democratic primary ballot during New Jersey's 2021 gubernatorial race.
According to a statement released by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, James Devine, 62, of Lambertville, received a two-year probation sentence on October 18, after pleading guilty to third-degree charges related to nomination petitions.
Devine admitted to submitting nearly 2,000 fraudulent nominating petitions to the New Jersey Division of Elections in April 2021, in an effort to qualify his candidate for the June 2021 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
According to a statement released by Attorney General Platkin, Devine "misused voters’ information without authorization, in order to deceive the State into believing his candidate met the bare minimum of requirements to be on the ballot."
The case was brought forward after an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), which revealed that several individuals whose names appeared on the petitions had not signed or authorized them.
As a result, Devine was indicted in March 2024 and pleaded guilty in August.
Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey N. Rabin had previously ruled in favor of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee in April 2021, striking the candidate from the ballot after irregularities were discovered in the petition submissions.
Devine's sentencing serves as a reminder of the legal consequences of attempting to manipulate the electoral process.